Method and system for decrementing account balance based on air-interface resource information

ABSTRACT

One embodiment takes the form of a method carried out by a gateway. The method includes the gateway receiving a message that was originated by a wireless communication device (WCD) being served by an access network. Next, the gateway may identify a given air-interface resource on which the access network is serving the WCD. After receiving the message, the gateway may use the given air-interface resource to determine one or more rules for decrementing an account balance associated with the WCD. The gateway may then decrement the account balance associated with the WCD in accordance with the determined one or more rules.

BACKGROUND

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in thissection are not prior art to the claims and are not admitted to be priorart by inclusion in this section.

Wireless service providers may operate access networks each arranged toprovide wireless communication devices (WCDs), such as cell phones,tablet computers, tracking devices, embedded wireless modules, and otherwirelessly-equipped communication devices, with wireless communicationservice. Each such access network may include a number of base stationsthat radiate to define an air interface over which to provide wirelessservice to WCDs according to an agreed air-interface protocol, such asOrthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA (e.g., Long TermEvolution (LTE) or Wireless Operability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)),Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) (e.g., 1xRTT and 1xEV-DO), WIFI,and BLUETOOTH, or others now known or later developed. In turn, eachbase station may be coupled with network infrastructure that providesconnectivity with one or more transport networks, such as the publicswitched telephone network (PSTN) and/or the Internet for instance. Withthis arrangement, a WCD within coverage of the access network may engagein air-interface communication with a base station and may therebycommunicate via the base station with various remote network entitiesand/or with other WCDs served by the base station or by other basestations.

In accordance with an agreed air-interface protocol, the air interfaceprovided by the access network may be comprised of various air-interfaceresources that are utilized by the base stations to serve WCDs. Forinstance, each base station may radiate to define one or moreair-interface coverage areas, such as cells and cell sectors, in whichWCDs can operate and engage in air-interface communication with the basestation. Within each air-interface coverage area, the base station mayoperate on one or more carrier frequencies (or “carriers”), eachdefining a frequency channel for communicating with WCDs. In a typicalexample, the base station's one or more carriers may each take the formof a particular frequency block (e.g., a 1.25 MHz, 5 MHz, or 10 MHzblock) in a profile frequency band used by the wireless serviceprovider, such as a 800 MHz band, a 1.9 GHz band, or a 2.5 GHz band.

In practice, each of the base station's one or more frequency channelsmay be divided into a downlink (or forward link) for carryingcommunications from the base station to WCDs and an uplink (or reverselink) for carrying communications from WCDs to the base stations. Forexample, according to some air-interface protocols, each frequencychannel may be divided over frequency into a first block of frequencyfor downlink communications and a second block of frequency for uplinkcommunications. Alternatively, according to other air-interfaceprotocols, each frequency channel may be divided over time into a firstset of timeslots for carrying downlink communications and a second setof timeslots for carrying uplink communications. Other techniques fordividing a frequency channel into a downlink and uplink may exist aswell.

Further, the agreed air-interface protocol may employ techniques such astime-division multiplexing, frequency-division multiplexing, and/orcode-division multiplexing to further divide a frequency channel'sdownlink and/or uplink into discrete sub-resources (e.g., LTE resourceblocks, 1xEV-DO forward-link timeslots and/or reverse-link channels,etc.), which may then be used to carry control and/or bearer databetween the base station and WCDs on the frequency channel.

In operation, each base station may be configured to broadcast, on eachof its one or more frequency channels, (1) a list of the frequencychannel(s) provided by the base station and (2) a pilot (or reference)signal that WCDs are configured to monitor in order to evaluate coveragestrength (e.g., signal strength and/or signal to noise ratio). Forexample, in a representative LTE system, each base station maybroadcast, on each of its one or more frequency channels, a systeminformation block (SIB) message that lists the frequency channels onwhich the base station provides service and a reference signal thatLTE-compliant WCDs are arranged to monitor in order to evaluate LTEcoverage provided by the base station. As another example, in arepresentative CDMA system, each base station may broadcast, on each ofits one or more frequency channels, a Channel List Message (CLM) thatlists the frequency channels on which the base station provides serviceand a pilot signal that CDMA-compliant WCDs are arranged to monitor inorder to evaluate CDMA coverage provided by the base station. Otherexamples are possible as well.

When a WCD first enters into coverage of an access network, the WCD maythen automatically scan the air interface in an effort to find thestrongest available pilot signal, and the WCD may then register with theaccess network over the frequency channel associated with that pilotsignal. For instance, the WCD may generally scan through variousfrequency channels and evaluate any pilot signals on those frequencychannels in order to identify the frequency channel having the strongestpilot signal. In turn, the WCD may engage in registration signaling withthe access network on that frequency channel in order to register withthe access network. At some later time, the access network can thenassign the WCD certain sub-resources on the frequency channel and beginexchanging bearer data with the WCD.

OVERVIEW

In access networks such as those described above, wireless serviceproviders may also employ entities for restricting or otherwise managinguse of communication services based on an account balance for aparticular subscriber. In systems providing account balance services, asubscriber may first establish an account with a service provider andthen prepay for communication services provided by the service providerby adding money to the subscriber's account. An account balancetypically represents a measure, such as time or monetary value, ofcommunication services that a subscriber is authorized to use. As thesubscriber uses the service, the service provider may then continuouslymonitor and decrement the balance of the account. When the balance dropsto a low threshold level, the service provider may notify the subscriberand allow the subscriber to add more money to the account. Then, oncethe account is exhausted, i.e., the balance drops to zero, the serviceprovider may either refuse to provide further communication services tothe subscriber or may begin charging the subscriber for excess use.Other arrangements are also possible.

In general, an account balance service can involve establishing orapplying any type of account balance that serves as an actual orsuggested limit on use of communications services. The account balancecould represent a time limit such as minutes of use, a communicationquantity limit such as numbers of calls, number of messages communicatedor units of data communicated, or a monetary limit such as dollars ofuse, for example. Further, the account balance that defines the actualor suggested limit on use need not necessarily come from a prepayment bya subscriber or other party. Rather, the account balance could simplyrepresent an assigned limit on use, which the subscriber may or may notbe allowed to exceed.

In order to provide account balance services such as those describedabove, an access network will typically include mechanisms for trackingcommunications, monitoring and adjusting a subscriber's account balance,and/or facilitating an appropriate action in response to detecting a lowor zero balance. These mechanisms may take various forms.

For instance, to apply account balance services for WCD communicationsby a subscriber (such as communication of voice calls, SMS messages,instant messages, e-mail messages, or the like), the subscriber'sserving access network may apply logic that queries the subscriber'saccount balance upon receipt of a request to transmit a message to orfrom the subscriber and that conditions allowance of the messagecommunication on the existence of a sufficient balance to cover thecommunication. If sufficient balance exists, the access network wouldthen allow the communication, but if sufficient balance does not exist,the access network may refuse to allow the communication and may insteadprovide a notice to the subscriber and invite the subscriber toreplenish the balance.

As the subscriber uses communication services provided by the serviceprovider, the access network may then continuously decrement thesubscriber's account balance. In a typical implementation, the accessnetwork may carry out this decrementing based on a predefined rate fordecrementing the account balance, such a rate for decrementing amonetary limit for the account such as dollars of use, as an example.

In some circumstances, however, it may be desirable for an accessnetwork to decrement a subscriber's account balance in different mannersdepending on the characteristics of the communication session betweenthe access network and the subscriber's WCD, such as the particularair-interface resource(s) being used by the access network to serve thesubscriber's WCD. For example, as noted above, an access network may becapable of serving the subscriber's WCD on one of several differentfrequency bands, and each of these frequency bands may provide adifferent capacity (e.g., the 2.5 GHz band may have more capacity thanthe 1.9 GHz band, the 1.9 GHz band may have more capacity than the 800MHz band, etc.). As a result, there is decreased supply on thosefrequency bands having less capacity. Thus, the access network may wishto decrement the subscriber's account balance in different mannersdepending on the frequency band being used to serve the subscriber'sWCD. Along similar lines, the access network may wish to decrement thesubscriber's account balance in different manners depending on theparticular frequency channel(s) being used to serve the subscriber'sWCD, the particular sub-resource(s) assigned to the subscriber's WCD,etc.

Accordingly, disclosed herein are methods and systems for decrementingan account balance associated with a given WCD in different manners(e.g., in accordance with different rules that apply different rates)depending on the particular air-interface resource(s) presently beingused to serve the given WCD.

One example embodiment of the disclosed methods may involve (a) at agateway that provides connectivity between an access network and atransport network, receiving a message that was originated by a WCDbeing served by the access network, (b) the gateway identifying a givenair-interface resource on which the access network is serving the WCD,(c) after receiving the message, the gateway using the givenair-interface resource to determine one or more rules for decrementingan account balance associated with the WCD, and (d) the gatewaydecrementing the account balance associated with the WCD in accordancewith the determined one or more rules.

In line with the discussion above, the given air-interface resourceidentified by the gateway may take various forms. As one example, thegiven air-interface resource may be the particular frequency band onwhich the access network is serving the WCD. As another example, thegiven air-interface resource may the frequency channel on which accessnetwork is serving the WCD, which may be identified by the carrierfrequency of the frequency channel and/or an identifier of thecoverage-area served by the frequency channel. As yet another example,the given air-interface resource may be a particular resource(s)assigned to the WCD on the frequency channel, such a particular LTEresource block, a particular 1xEV-DO timeslot and/or reverse-linkchannel, etc. Other examples are possible as well. It should also beunderstood that the given air-interface resource identified by thegateway could be a combination of two or more different air-interfaceresources being used to serve the given WCD (e.g., a frequency band anda frequency channel).

The one or more rules for decrementing the account balance associatedwith the given WCD may take various forms. As one example, the one ormore rules for decrementing an account balance associated with the WCDcomprise a respective rule corresponding to each of one or morefrequency bands. For instance, a given WCD may decrement an accountbalance for the given WCD under a first set of rules if it is beingserved by the access network on the 1.9 GHz band, a second set of rulesif it is being served by the access network on the 2.5 GHz band, and soon. Other examples are possible as well.

Another example embodiment of the disclosed methods may include (a) atan access network, serving a WCD with telecommunication service, whereinthe access network maintains an account balance associated with the WCD,(b) the access network identifying a given air-interface resource onwhich the access network is serving the WCD, (c) the access networkusing the given air-interface resource to determine one or more rulesfor decrementing the account balance associated with the WCD, and (d)the access network decrementing the account balance associated with theWCD in accordance with the determined one or more rules.

Also disclosed herein are structures configured to facilitateimplementation of the disclosed methods. One embodiment of the disclosedstructures may take the form of a gateway that includes (a) a networkcommunication interface configured to provide connectivity with anaccess network, (b) a processing unit, (c) data storage, and (d) programinstructions stored in the data storage and executable by the processingunit to carry out functions such as those disclosed herein. Anotherembodiment of the disclosed structures may take the form of anon-transitory computer readable medium having instructions storedthereon that are executable by a processing unit to carry out functionssuch as those disclosed herein.

These and other aspects and advantages will become apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art by reading the following detailed description,with reference where appropriate to the accompanying drawings. Further,it should be understood that this overview and other descriptionthroughout this document is provided merely for purposes of example andis not intended to limit the scope of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of an example network arrangementin which embodiments of the disclosed methods and entities can beimplemented.

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of another example networkarrangement in which embodiments of the disclosed methods and entitiescan be implemented.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart depicting functions that can be carried out inaccordance with example embodiment of the disclosed methods.

FIG. 4 is a simplified block diagram showing functional components thatmay be included in example gateway to facilitate implementation of thedisclosed methods.

FIG. 5 is a simplified block diagram showing functional components thatmay be included in example base station to facilitate implementation ofthe disclosed methods.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present method and corresponding system will now be described withreference to the figures. It should be understood, however, thatnumerous variations from the depicted arrangements and functions arepossible while remaining within the scope and spirit of the claims. Forinstance, one or more elements may be added, removed, combined,distributed, substituted, re-positioned, re-ordered, and/or otherwisechanged. Further, where this description refers to one or more functionsbeing implemented on and/or by one or more devices, one or moremachines, and/or one or more networks, it should be understood that oneor more of such entities could carry out one or more of such functionsby themselves or in cooperation, and may do so by application of anysuitable combination of hardware, firmware, and/or software. Forinstance, one or more processors may execute one or more sets ofprogramming instructions as at least part of carrying out of one or moreof the functions described herein.

Referring to the drawings, as noted above, FIG. 1 is a simplified blockdiagram of an example network arrangement in which embodiments of thedisclosed methods and entities can be implemented. As shown, thearrangement includes an access network 102 that functions to providewireless communication devices (WCDs) with connectivity to one or moretransport networks. In particular, the access network 102 is shownproviding a representative WCD 104 with connectivity to a representativetransport network 106. To facilitate providing this connectivity, theaccess network 102 may include one or more components that communicatewith the WCD 104 and with the transport network 106 and that bridgethose entities together to allow the WCD 104 to engage in communicationswith entities on the transport network 106.

The access network 102 may be structured to provide various types ofconnectivity, such as wireless, circuit-switched, and/orpacket-switched, for various types of communications, such as voiceand/or data for instance. As a specific example, the access network 102may be cellular wireless network that includes (1) a wireless basestation 108 arranged to serve the WCD 104 in accordance with anair-interface protocol such as OFDMA (e.g., LTE or WiMAX), CDMA, WIFI,or the like, and (2) a gateway 110 that connects with a transportnetwork such as the PSTN or the Internet. Representative WCD 104 maythen be a device such as a cell phone, wirelessly-equipped computer,embedded wireless module, or the like, configured to be servedwirelessly by such a base station and to engage in voice and/or datacommunication via the base station and the switch or gateway withentities on the PSTN or Internet. Other examples are possible as well.

The base station 108 may radiate to define one or more air-interfacecoverage areas, such as cells and cell sectors, in which the WCD 104 canoperate and engage in air-interface communication with the base station108. Within each air-interface coverage area, the base station 108 mayoperate on one or more carrier frequencies (or “carriers”). In a typicalexample, the base station's 108 one or more carriers may each take theform of a particular frequency block (e.g., a 1.25 MHz, 5 MHz, or 10 MHzblock) in a profile frequency band used by the wireless serviceprovider, such as a 800 MHz band, a 1.9 GHz band, or a 2.5 GHz band.Each carrier in each coverage area may then define a separate frequencychannel over which the base station 108 may communicate with WCDs. Assuch, the base station's one or more frequency channels may each beidentified based on a carrier frequency and an identifier of thecoverage area in which the frequency channel is provided (e.g., a PNoffset, sector ID, etc.). It should be understood, however, that afrequency channel may be identified in other manners as well.

The one or more frequency channels of the base station 108 may takevarious forms. In one example, each of the base station's one or morefrequency channels may be divided into a downlink (or forward link) forcarrying communications from the base station 108 to the WCD 104 and anuplink (or reverse link) for carrying communications from the WCD 104 tothe base station 108. For example, according to some air-interfaceprotocols, each frequency channel may be divided over frequency into afirst block of frequency for downlink communications and a second blockof frequency for uplink communications. Alternatively, according toother air-interface protocols, each frequency channel may be dividedover time into a first set of timeslots for carrying downlinkcommunications and a second set of timeslots for carrying uplinkcommunications. Other techniques for dividing a frequency channel into adownlink and uplink may exist as well.

Further, the agreed air-interface protocol may employ techniques suchtime-division multiplexing, frequency-division multiplexing, and/orcode-division multiplexing to further divide a frequency channel'sdownlink and/or uplink into discrete sub-resources (e.g., LTE resourceblocks, 1xEV-DO forward-link timeslots and/or reverse-link channels,etc.), which may then be used to carry control and/or bearer databetween the base station 108 and the WCD 104 on the frequency channel.

The gateway 110 may generally function to provide connectivity betweenthe access network 102 and the transport network 106. As such, thegateway 110 may take any form that enables it to carry out thisfunction.

In line with the discussion above, the access network 102 may provide amechanism for restricting or otherwise managing use of communicationservices based on a measure of subscriber account balance. In such asystem, a subscriber may first establish a prepaid account with theaccess network 102 and then pay for a duration of communication serviceson the communication network by adding money to the prepaid account. Anaccount balance typically represents a measure, such as time or monetaryvalue, of communication services that a subscriber is authorized to use.As the subscriber uses the service, the access network 102 may thendecrement the balance of the prepaid account.

In accordance with this disclosure, the access network 102 may bearranged to decrement an account balance associated with the WCD 104 indifferent manners depending on characteristics of a communicationsession between the access network 102 and the WCD 104. To facilitatethis, the access network 102 may be programmed with, have access to, orotherwise maintain rules that define the different manners in which theaccess network may decrement the account balance, and the access network102 may then apply these rules as it serves the WCD 104.

For instance, as shown in FIG. 1, the access network 102 may include apolicy-subsystem 112 that is configured to maintain and apply rules fordecrementing the account balance of the WCD 104. This policy-subsystem112 may take various forms. As one representative example,policy-subsystem 112 is shown as including (1) a policy decision point(PDP) 114 that generally functions to maintain a record of one or morerules for decrementing the account balance of the WCD 104 depending oncharacteristics of a communication session between the access network102 and the WCD 104 and (2) a policy enforcement point (PEP) 116 thatfunctions to apply these rules as the access network serves the WCD 104.These entities may take various forms, and in some cases, may beimplemented as functions of other access-network components (e.g., acontroller or a gateway such as the gateway 110). Other examples arepossible as well.

FIG. 2 is next a more specific but still simplified depiction of anetwork arrangement in which embodiments of the disclosed methods andentities can be implemented. In particular, the representative systemincludes an LTE access network 202 and a CDMA access network 204. Itshould be understood that these two types of access networks are justexamples, and that the principles described can extend to apply withrespect to any other types of access networks, such as wireless accessnetworks operating in accordance with other air-interface protocols forinstance.

As noted above, each of these access networks may include one or morebase stations that radiate to provide one or more frequency channels onwhich to serve WCDs. By way of example, the LTE access network 202 isshown including one or more representative LTE base stations 206 knownas eNodeBs, and the CDMA access network is shown including one or morerepresentative CDMA base stations 208 known as a base transceiverstations (BTSs). Further, by way of example, the LTE access network 202is shown defining a number of frequency channels denoted as Channels 1,2, . . . N, and the CDMA access network 204 is shown defining a singlerepresentative frequency channel. Other arrangements are possible aswell.

The frequency channels provided by the LTE and CDMA access networks maytake various forms. For instance, in one representative implementationof the LTE access network 202, Channels 1, 2, . . . N may each include adownlink that takes the form of a 5 MHz, 10 MHz, or 20 MHzcarrier-frequency channel, which is then further divided in both thetime and frequency domains into “resource blocks,” each taking the formof a timeslot having a duration of 0.5 milliseconds (ms) and spanning aset of twelve 15-kHz sub-carriers (for a total bandwidth of 180 kHz).These resource blocks may be assigned to particular WCDs such that eachassigned resource block may carry control and/or bearer data intendedfor a particular WCD (or group of WCDs). Additionally, the resourceblocks may also carry other information, such as shared control data(e.g., a reference signal for the given coverage area). Each frequencychannel's uplink may then be configured in a similar manner. As notedabove, in other implementations of LTE, the downlink and uplink may bedivided in the time domain rather than the frequency domain.

Further, in one representative implementation of the CDMA network 204,the frequency channel may include a 1.25 MHz carrier-frequency downlinkthat is divided in the time domain into timeslot resources, each havinga length of 2048 chips and a duration of approximately 1.67 ms. Eachdownlink timeslot may then be further divided in the time domain intotwo 1024 chip half slots, each arranged to carry a 76 chip forward pilotchannel, two 64 chip forward medium access control (MAC) channelsegments, and two 400 chip forward data segments for carrying controland/or bearer data. These downlink timeslots may then be assigned toparticular WCDs using MAC identifiers, such that each assigned timeslotmay carry control and/or bearer data intended for a particular WCD (orgroup of WCDs). The frequency channel's uplink may be configured in asimilar manner, although the uplink may alternatively be divided intocode channels using “Walsh codes.”

Each base station in the LTE and CDMA access networks may be configuredto broadcast, on each of its frequency channels, a specification of theone or more frequency channels provided by the base station. Thisspecification may take various forms, and may identify the basestation's one or more frequency channels in various manners (e.g., usinga combination of a carrier-frequency identifier and coverage-areaidentifier). For instance, in the LTE access network 202, each eNodeBmay broadcast a System Information Block #5 (SIBS) message that includesa frequency-channel list. And in the CDMA access network 204, each BTSmay broadcast a Channel List Message (CLM) that includes afrequency-channel list.

Each illustrated access network is shown as including other networkinfrastructure that helps enable the access network to serve WCDs. Forexample, the LTE access network 202 includes (1) a mobility managemententity (MME) 210 that functions as a controller for the LTE accessnetwork 202, and (2) a gateway system 212. The gateway system 212further includes (1) a serving gateway (SGW) 214 and (2) a packetgateway (PGW) 216. The PGW 216 provides connectivity with apacket-switched network 218 such as the Internet. As shown, the MME 210has an interface for communication with each of the eNodeBs 206 and aninterface for communication with the gateway system 212. With thisarrangement, the MME 210 can manage registration of WCDs with the LTEaccess network 202, paging of WCDs served by the LTE access network 202,and setup of bearer tunnels for WCDs served by the LTE access network202 to allow those WCDs to engage in packet data communication onpacket-switched network 218. The LTE access network 202 may furtherinclude a home subscriber server (HSS) 220 and a policy charging andrules function (PCRF) 222, among other entities.

In line with the discussion above, the LTE access network 202 may alsoinclude a PDP and a PEP (or the like), which may be implemented invarious manners. For instance, in one implementation, the HSS 220 mayfunction as a PDP and the MME 210 may function as a PEP. According tothis implementation, the HSS 220 may maintain a record of one or morerules for decrementing the account balance and may provide the MME 210with the one or more rules when a representative WCD 230 is served bythe LTE access network 202. The MME 210 may then store the one or morerules and subsequently apply those rules as the LTE access network 202serves the WCD 230.

In another implementation, the PCRF 222 may function as a PDP and thePGW 216 may function as a PEP. According to this implementation, thePCRF 222 may maintain a record of one or more rules for decrementing theaccount balance and may provide the PGW 216 with the one or more ruleswhen the WCD 230 is served by the LTE access network 202. The PGW 216may then store the one or more rules and subsequently apply those rulesas the LTE access network 202 serves the WCD 230.

In yet another implementation, the MME 210, HSS 220, PGW 216, and/orPCRF 222 could package one or more such rules for decrementing theaccount balance and send the package to a provisioning server 224sitting on the packet-switched network 218.

PGW 216 and PCRF 222 are shown in communication with account balancecharging system 225, which may contain account balance data for varioussubscribers such as WCD 230. Although account balance charging system225 is shown coupled directly to PGW 216 and PCRF 222 and external toaccess network 202, it could just as well be accessible viapacket-switched network 218, or provided internally within provisioningserver 224 or gateway system 212.

Account balance charging system 225 may contain information aboutaccount balances and account balance subscriptions of varioussubscribers users and/or WCDs, which PGW 216 may reference to facilitateaccount balance validation. For each WCD, the account balance chargingsystem 225 may specify a client address, identifier or other data thatmight be indicated in (or determinable by) a content request or acontent transmission to determine that the content is to be transmittedto and/or received by a particular WCD. In turn, the account balancecharging system 225 may indicate for each WCD an existing accountbalance and a charge rate or other logic indicating how to apply theaccount balance in practice (such as on a per message, per minute, orper kilobyte basis or on some other basis). Account balance chargingsystem 225 may further be part of a larger set of authentication andauthorization data and/or logic for particular subscribers, which mightdefine other conditions that need to be met (e.g., as part of theaccount balance validation process) before content is transmitted to thedestination subscriber. The account balance may be arranged on asubscriber-by-subscriber basis (in which case a subscriber ID wouldcorrespond to a list of WCD IDs), or on a WCD-by-WCD basis (in whichcase a single WCD ID would correspond to a particular WCD).

CDMA access network 204, on the other hand, includes a mobile switchingcenter (MSC) 226 that functions as a controller of the CDMA accessnetwork 204 and that also functions to provide connectivity with PSTN228. As shown, MSC 226 has an interface for communication (typicallythrough a base station controller or radio network controller (notshown)) with the BTS 208. With this arrangement, the MSC 226 can manageregistration of WCDs with the CDMA access network 204, paging of WCDsserved by the CDMA access network 204, and setup of PSTN calls for WCDsserved by the CDMA access network 204.

The MSC 226 may also be in communication with a PEP and PDP that areconfigured to maintain and apply the rules for a given WCD, as discussedabove. In addition, PSTN 228 may be in communication with the accountbalance charging system 225, and the account balance charging system 225may contain information about account balances and account balancesubscriptions of various users and/or WCDs, as discussed above.

Further shown in FIG. 2 is a representative WCD 230 positioned incoverage of both the LTE access network 202 and the CDMA access network204. Such a WCD 230 may be capable being served concurrently by both theLTE access network 202 and the CDMA access network 204. For instance,the WCD 230 may be a dual-radio device, having both an LTE radio thatthe WCD 230 can use to be served by the LTE access network 202, and aCDMA access network 204 that the WCD 230 can use concurrently to beserved by the CDMA access network 204. Alternatively, the WCD 230 mayinclude a single radio that supports both LTE service and CDMA serviceand that the WCD 230 can use to be served concurrently by both accessnetworks. In another example, the WCD 230 may be configured to supportbeing served exclusively by the LTE access network 202. Otherconfigurations are possible as well.

Turning now to FIG. 3, a flow chart illustrating functions that can becarried out in accordance with an example embodiment of the disclosedmethods is shown. These functions may be carried out by one or morecomponents of an access network, such as the access networks of FIG. 1and FIG. 2 above.

As shown in FIG. 3, the example embodiment may begin at block 302 with abase station of an access network serving a WCD on a given air-interfaceresource. As described above in relation to FIGS. 1 and 2, the givenair-interface resource may be defined in various manners. For instance,the given air-interface resource may be defined based on a particularfrequency band in which the base station is serving the WCD, aparticular frequency channel within the particular frequency band onwhich the base station is serving the WCD (which may in turn be definedby the carrier frequency on which the frequency channel is employedand/or the particular coverage area in which the frequency channel isprovided), and/or a particular sub-resource that has been assigned tothe WCD on the frequency channel (e.g., an LTE resource block, a 1xEV-DOtimeslot, a Walsh-coded channel, etc.). Other examples are possible aswell.

The method continues at block 304 with a gateway receiving a messagethat was originated by the WCD. The message may take various routes fromthe WCD to the gateway. For example, with reference to the generalnetwork arrangement depicted in FIG. 1, the message may pass from theWCD to the base station, and then from the base station 108 to thegateway 110 (either directly or via one or more intermediate entitiesthat are now shown). As another example, with reference to the LTEnetwork arrangement decpited in FIG. 2, the message may pass from theWCD 230 to the eNodeB 206, from the eNodeB 206 to the SGW 214 (e.g., viaan S1U interface), and the from the SGW 214 to the PGW 216 (e.g., via anS5 interface or an S8 interface). Other examples are possible as well.

Further, the message may take various forms. The message may be asignaling message associated with the setup of a communication session(such as voice calls, SMS messages, instant messages, e-mail messages,or the like). In another example, the message may include a header and apayload. The header may include information such as an identifier of theWCD that originated the packet, the IP address of the destination of themessage, among other information. The payload may include the part ofthe transmitted data which is the fundamental purpose of thetransmission. For example, the payload may include the voice data of acellular call, the text data in a text message, or other datatransmitted to or from the WCD. The message may take other forms aswell.

Further, a base station may receive the message from the WCD, and thebase station may subsequently update the message to include theindication of the given air-interface resource, and then transmit theupdated message for receipt by the gateway. In such an example, thefeature of the base station updating the message to include anindication of the given air-interface resource may take various forms.In one example, this feature may comprise adding the indication of thegiven air-interface resource to a header of the message. The header maytake various forms, including a general packet radio service tunnelingprotocol (GTP-U) extension header, as an example. In another example,this feature may comprise adding the indication of the givenair-interface resource to the payload of the message. Other examples arepossible as well.

It should also be understood that the base station may not update eachmessage it receives from the WCD with air-interface resourceinformation. Rather, before updating, the base station may be configuredto make a threshold determination of whether to update the receivedmessage. The base station may carry out this decision in variousmanners. For example, the base station may decide to include such anindication periodically (e.g., after a given amount of time has passedand/or a given number of messages have been received since last updatinga message from the WCD to include such an indication). In anotherexample, the base station may decide to include such an indication onlyin the first message received after the base station begins serving theWCD on a particular air-interface resource. Other examples are possibleas well.

Next, the method continues at block 306 with the gateway identifying agiven air-interface resource on which the access network is serving theWCD. The gateway may determine the given air-interface resource invarious ways.

In one implementation, the gateway may identify the given air-interfaceresource based on an indication of the given air-interface resource thatis included in the received message. The indication of the givenair-interface resource may take various forms. In one example, theindication of the given air-interface resource may include an indicationof a particular frequency band on which the access network is servingthe WCD, such as one of the 800 MHz band, the 1.9 GHz band, and the 2.5GHz band, as discussed above. In another example, the indication of thegiven air-interface resource may include an indication of at least onefrequency channel on which the access network is serving the WCD (e.g.,a carrier frequency and/or a coverage-area identifier). In yet anotherexample, the indication of the given air-interface resource may includean indication of an uplink and/or downlink on which the base station isserving the WCD. In still another example, the indication of the givenair-interface resource may include an indication of at least onesub-resource on which the access network is serving the WCD (e.g., anidentifier of a resource block, timeslot, etc.). Other examples arepossible as well.

In another example, the gateway may identify the given air-interfaceresource based on an attribute-value pair (AVP) that indicates the givenair-interface resource on which the access network is presently servingthe WCD, which the gateway may receive from an account balance chargingsystem. The gateway may receive the AVP from the account balancecharging system may at different times, such as the initial attachmentof the WCD, or periodically, as examples. Further, the gateway mayreceive the AVP from the account balance charging system in variousmanners. For example, with reference to the LTE network arrangementdepicted in FIG. 2, the PGW 216 may receive a CCA-I message thatincludes an AVP from the account balance charging system 225 (e.g., viaa Gy interface) in response to sending the account balance chargingsystem 225 a CCR-U message and/or a CCA-U message. Other examples arepossible as well.

The method continues at block 308 with the gateway using the givenair-interface resource to determine one or more rules for decrementingan account balance associated with the WCD. These rules may take variousforms.

According to one implementation, the gateway may maintain sets of rulesfor decrementing an account balance associated with the WCD that arebased on different frequency bands, such as a first set of rules for the1.9 GHz band, a second set of rules for the 2.5 GHz band, etc. In thisrespect, in one representative example, the first set of rules maydictate that the account balance be decremented according to a firstmultiplier (e.g., one unit of account balance for every one unit of datacommunicated), and the second set of rules may dictate that the accountbalance be decremented according to a second multiplier (e.g., one halfunit of balance for every unit of data communicated), etc. Further, ifthe gateway later determines that the access network has changed fromserving the WCD in a first frequency band to serving the WCD a secondfrequency band (e.g., from the 1.9 GHz band to the 2.5 GHz band), thegateway may responsively adjust the one or more rules for decrementingthe account balance from the first set of rules to the second set ofrules.

In another implementation, the one or more rules may dictate that theaccount balance is to be decremented according to a particular rate,such as a rate for decrementing a monetary limit for the prepaidaccount. As another example, the one or more rules may define amultiplier for decrementing the account balance associated with the WCD,such as a multiplier for decrementing a time limit for the prepaidaccount, or a multiplier for decrementing a communication quantity limitfor the prepaid account.

As another example, the rules may define an increase in available datausage for various air-interface resources. For example, a user maypurchase 1 GB of data usage for a given WCD. The one or more rules mayprovide that when the given WCD is served by the access network on the2.5 GHz band, the given WCD is entitled to a 10% increase in data usage,or 1.1 GB of data usage. Of course, many other examples of rulescorresponding to different air-interface resources may exist as well.

In operation, the gateway may determine the set of rules fordecrementing an account balance associated with the WCD in variousmanners. In one implementation, with reference to the LTE networkarrangement depicted in FIG. 2, the PGW 216 may transmit the receivedmessage to the PCRF 222, which may maintain a record defining one ormore rules for decrementing an account balance. The PCRF 222 may beconfigured to provide the PGW 216 with those rules when the WCD isserved by the LTE access network.

In particular, in one example the PGW 216 may receive from the PCRF 222a set of rules for the WCD, which may include different rules fordifferent air-interface resources (e.g., different frequency bands orfrequency channels). The PGW 216 may maintain a database of such ruleslocally (e.g., in a context record for the WCD) and may apply thoserules as the PGW 216 receives the message from the SGW 214. In anotherexample, the PGW 216 may query the PCRF 222 for a policy directive eachtime the PGW 216 learns of the air-interface resource on which the WCDis being served by the eNodeB 206. The PCRF 222 may then determine theappropriate set of rules to apply based at least in part on the givenair-interface resource. The PCRF 222 may then provide a directive to thePGW 216 including the appropriate set of rules for decrementing anaccount balance associated with the WCD for the PGW 216 to implement.

In another example, the gateway may determine the set of rules fordecrementing an account balance associated with the WCD by querying anaccount balance charging system. As discussed above, the account balancecharging system may contain information about account balances andaccount balance subscriptions of various subscribers and/or WCDs. Inaddition, the account balance may include the set of rules fordecrementing the account balance associated with the WCD. In its query,the gateway may include identification information corresponding to theWCD and information indicating the given air-interface resource on whichthe WCD is being served by the access network. The account balancecharging system may subsequently provide the set of rules fordecrementing an account balance associated with the WCD based at leastin part on the air-interface resource on which the WCD is being served.Other potential embodiments for determining the set of rules arepossible as well.

The method continues at block 310 with the gateway decrementing theaccount balance associated with the WCD in accordance with thedetermined one or more rules. For example, if the determined one or morerules defines a rate for decrementing the account balance, then thegateway proceeds to decrement the account balance according to that rateby, e.g., decreasing the monetary balance by an amount that correspondsto the number of minutes or data used during the subsequentcommunication session.

FIG. 4 is next a simplified block diagram depicting components of anexample gateway 400 that may be arranged to carry out various aspects ofthe disclosed methods. As shown in FIG. 4, gateway 400 includes anetwork communication interface 402, a processing unit 404, and datastorage 406, all of which may be communicatively linked together by asystem bus, network, or other connection mechanism 408.

In this example arrangement, network communication interface 402functions to facilitate communication with various other entities of thesystem. As such, the interface may include a wired or wireless Ethernetmodule or other interface, depending on the manner in whichcommunication will occur. Processing unit 404 may then comprise one ormore general purpose processors (e.g., microprocessors) and/or one ormore special purpose processors (e.g., application specific integratedcircuits or digital signal processors). And data storage 406 maycomprise one or more volatile and/or non-volatile storage components(non-transitory), such as magnetic, optical, flash, or organic storagecomponents.

As shown, data storage 406 may contain reference data 410 and programlogic 412. Reference data 410 may comprise various data usable byprocessing unit 404 to carry out various functions described herein. Forexample, reference data 410 may comprise one or more rules fordecrementing an account balance for each of various air-interfaceresources and may thus define for each WCD one or more rules fordecrementing an account balance based at least in part on the frequencyon which the WCD is being served. Program logic 412, in turn, may thencomprise machine language instructions or the like that are executableby the processing unit 404 to carry out various functions describedherein, such as to receive a message that was originated by a given WCDand responsively provide one or more rules for decrementing an accountbalance for the given WCD based at least in part on the air-interfaceresource on which the given WCD is being served.

FIG. 5 is a simplified block diagram depicting components of an examplebase station 500 that may be arranged to carry out various aspects ofthe disclosed methods. As shown, the example base station 500 includes awireless communication interface 502, a network communication interface504, a processing unit 506, and data storage 508, all of which may becommunicatively linked together by a system bus, network, or otherconnection mechanism 510.

In this example arrangement, wireless communication interface 502generally functions to radiate to define one or more coverage areas inwhich WCDs can operate and engage in wireless communication with basestation 500 over an air interface. As such, wireless communicationinterface 502 may include one or more antenna structures arranged invarious ways (e.g., one or more directional or sectored antennas thatare potentially tower mounted). Additionally, wireless communicationinterface 502 may include other associated components, such as a poweramplifier and/or a modem for instance. Other configurations are alsopossible.

Network communication interface 504 generally functions to facilitatecommunication with one or more access networks, such as those discussedabove for instance, and may thus take various forms to facilitatevarious types of communication such as wireless, landline,circuit-switched, and/or packet-switched communication. Networkcommunication interface 504 may take any suitable form for carrying outthis function, examples of which include an Ethernet interface, a serialbus interface (e.g., Firewire, USB 2.0, etc.), a chipset and antennaadapted to facilitate wireless communication, and/or any other interfacethat provides for wired and/or wireless communication. Networkcommunication interface 504 may also include multiple interfaces. Otherconfigurations are possible as well.

Processing unit 506 may comprise one or more general purpose processors(e.g., microprocessors) and/or one or more special purpose processors(e.g., application specific integrated circuits or digital signalprocessors), programmable-logic devices (e.g., a field programmable gatearray), and/or any other processor components now known or laterdeveloped. Processing unit 506 may be integrated in whole or in partwith other components of base station 500.

Data storage 508 may then comprise one or more volatile and/ornon-volatile storage components (non-transitory), such as magnetic,optical, flash, or organic storage components. As shown, data storage508 may be arranged to contain reference data 512 and program logic 514.Reference data 512 may comprise various data usable by processing unit506 to carry out various functions described herein. Program logic 514may then comprise machine language instructions or the like that may beexecuted or interpreted by processing unit 506 to carry out variousfunctions described herein.

Exemplary embodiments have been described above. Those skilled in theart will appreciate, however, that many variations from the embodimentsare possible while remaining within the spirit and scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: at a gateway that providesconnectivity between an access network and a transport network,receiving a message that was originated by a wireless communicationdevice (WCD) being served by the access network; the gateway identifyinga given air-interface resource on which the access network is servingthe WCD, wherein the given air-interface resource is selected from thegroup consisting of a frequency band, at least one frequency channel,and at least one Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA)resource block; after receiving the message, the gateway using the givenair-interface resource to determine one or more rules for decrementingan account balance associated with the WCD; and the gateway decrementingthe account balance associated with the WCD in accordance with thedetermined one or more rules.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein themessage includes an indication of the given air-interface resource, andwherein identifying the given air-interface resource on which the accessnetwork is serving the WCD comprises identifying the given air-interfaceresource based on the indication.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein theindication of the given air-interface resource is located in a header ofthe message.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the header of the messagecomprises a general packet radio service tunneling protocol (GTP-U)extension header.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the givenair-interface resource comprises a given frequency band, wherein the oneor more rules comprise a respective rule corresponding to each of one ormore frequency bands, and wherein determining the one or more rules fordecrementing the account balance associated with the WCD comprisesmatching the given frequency band with one of the one or more frequencybands.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the one or morerules for decrementing the account balance associated with the WCDcomprises using the given air-interface resource to obtain the one ormore rules from a database of rules maintained by the gateway.
 7. Amethod comprising: at a gateway that provides connectivity between anaccess network and a transport network, receiving a message that wasoriginated by a wireless communication device (WCD) being served by theaccess network; the gateway identifying a given air-interface resourceon which the access network is serving the WCD; after receiving themessage, the gateway using the given air-interface resource to determineone or more rules for decrementing an account balance associated withthe WCD, wherein determining the one or more rules for decrementing theaccount balance associated with the WCD comprises (i) sending a requestfor the one or more rules to a policy charging and rules function(PCRF), wherein the request includes an indication of the givenair-interface resource, and (ii) as a result of sending the request,receiving the one or more rules from the PCRF; and the gatewaydecrementing the account balance associated with the WCD in accordancewith the determined one or more rules.
 8. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: the gateway detecting a change in the given air-interfaceresource on which the access network is serving the WCD from the givenair-interface resource to a second air-interface resource; and thegateway adjusting the one or more rules for decrementing the accountbalance of the WCD from a first set of rules associated with the givenair-interface resource to a second set of rules associated with thesecond air-interface resource.
 9. A method comprising: at an accessnetwork, serving a wireless communication device (WCD) withtelecommunication service, wherein the access network maintains anaccount balance associated with the WCD; the access network identifyinga given air-interface resource on which the access network is servingthe WCD; the access network using the given air-interface resource todetermine one or more rules for decrementing the account balanceassociated with the WCD; the access network decrementing the accountbalance associated with the WCD in accordance with the determined one ormore rules; the access network detecting a change in the givenair-interface resource on which the access network is serving the WCDfrom the given air-interface resource to a second air-interfaceresource; and the access network adjusting the one or more rules fordecrementing the account balance of the WCD from a first set of rulesassociated with the given air-interface resource to a second set ofrules associated with the second air-interface resource.
 10. The methodof claim 9, wherein the given air-interface resource comprises afrequency band.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the givenair-interface resource comprises at least one frequency channel on whichthe access network is serving the WCD.
 12. A gateway comprising: anetwork communication interface configured to provide connectivity withan access network; a processing unit; data storage; and programinstructions stored in the data storage and executable by the processingunit to carry out functions comprising: receiving a message that wasoriginated by a wireless communication device (WCD) being served by theaccess network, wherein the message includes an indication of the givenair-interface resource located in a header of the message; identifying agiven air-interface resource on which the access network is serving theWCD, wherein identifying the given air-interface resource on which theaccess network is serving the WCD comprises identifying the givenair-interface resource based on the indication; after receiving themessage, using the given air-interface resource to determine one or morerules for decrementing an account balance associated with the WCD; anddecrementing the account balance associated with the WCD in accordancewith the determined one or more rules.
 13. The gateway of claim 12,wherein the given air-interface resource comprises a given frequencyband, wherein the one or more rules comprise a respective rulecorresponding to each of one or more frequency bands, and whereindetermining the one or more rules for decrementing the account balanceassociated with the WCD comprises matching the given frequency band withone of the one or more frequency bands.
 14. The gateway of claim 12,wherein determining the one or more rules for decrementing the accountbalance associated with the WCD comprises using the given air-interfaceresource to obtain the one or more rules from a database of rulesmaintained by the gateway.
 15. The gateway of claim 12, whereindetermining the one or more rules for decrementing the account balanceassociated with the WCD comprises: sending a request for the one or morerules to a policy charging and rules function (PCRF), wherein therequest includes an indication of the given air-interface resource; andas a result of sending the request, receiving the one or more rules fromthe PCRF.